The relationship between work accident rates and economic activity: Evidence from Peru (2016-2021)

Abstract

The study analyzes the relationship between work accident rates and economic activity (GDP per worker) in Peru. The empirical strategy is based on fixed-effects regressions and vector autoregression models (VAR) for panel-data settings on a sample of 15 Peruvian industries during the period 2016-2021. The main results confirm the unidirectional causal relationship in the short-term from GDP per worker to the rate of work accidents. Additionally, the findings suggest that this relationship is heterogeneous across industries: the reported causal relationship is confirmed for agriculture, fishing, utilities, construction, manufacturing, and transport and warehousing. In line with the increased awareness on how economic activity impacts work accidents, policy implications and future research avenues are discussed.